As a parent or caregiver, imagine having a social worker knock on your door to tell you that someone has reported their suspicion that you are not taking proper care of a child in your care. As mandated reporters, our calls to child protective services about “reasonable suspicion” of child abuse and neglect are informed by our training and experience. Mandated reporting is about ensuring child safety. Unfortunately, the ambiguous and emotionally charged nature of this topic, coupled with tremendous fear of individual and organizational liability, inadequate and inconsistent training, and lack of support for mandated reporters often leave us to make consequential decisions based on limited information and in isolation. We must know that the decision to report a family to a county child welfare agency is not without consequences, and I firmly believe it sometimes does more harm than good. When we prioritize the liability of our organizations over the well-being of families and children, no one is well-served.
Each year, as school and district employees, we dutifully complete our annually required mandated reporter training. In my experience, the main takeaway of these training sessions is that we must report any potential concerns, no questions asked (don’t investigate!) or risk personal and professional consequences, including fines and loss of credentials. This training approach disempowers mandated reporters and has, unfortunately, resulted in educators being the most likely to report concerns that are ultimately determined to not be abuse or neglect once investigated by child protective services.
Besides law enforcement, educators are the second-largest group making referrals to child protective agencies. According to the California Child Welfare Indicators Project data presented at the Knowledge is Power Summit, educators made 20% of the referrals to child protection in 2019, impacting about 23,308 children. However, only 10% of those referrals were substantiated following an investigation. In Los Angeles County in 2022, the substantiation rate was 6% for allegations made by mandated reporters in education.
California law does not require standardized mandated reporter training. The system relies on professionals to report suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. It prioritizes organizational risk over the best interests of children and their families. The lack of concrete guidance leaves mandated reporters feeling ill-equipped to make sound reporting decisions. As humans, our biases, both implicit and explicit, affect our judgment. A recent survey of mandated reporters found that 43% of respondents made reports when they did not suspect maltreatment. Of these, 17% filed reports to connect families to services because they didn’t know how to help those families access services. As a former child abuse investigator, I’ve seen how this over-reporting can cause unnecessary stress, trauma, increased isolation and disruption for children and families, particularly those in underserved communities, and specifically communities of color.
To shift the focus from enforcement to support, Assembly Bill 2085 was signed by the governor in 2022. This law aims to eliminate inaccurate reports of general neglect by narrowing the legal definition of general neglect to apply only when there is substantial risk of serious injury or illness. It clarifies that poverty does not equal neglect.
Los Angeles County is also joining the broader effort to improve training and systems to support families who have needs that should be met outside of the child protection system. In alignment with the “LA County Mandated Supporting Initiative”, multiple agencies and key partners are working together to transform the mandated reporting process in L.A. County to better support historically underserved children, youth and families. They recently launched training aimed at enhancing child safety and reducing harm and systemic inequities driven by unnecessary and inappropriate reports of suspected child neglect to the Department of Children and Family Services. More focused training will be offered in 2024, including sector and discipline-specific content to address distinct mandated reporter groups.
For us as educators, this is a call to action. A call to reconsider when child protection is needed versus when a family may need support — and to meet this moment, we must reexamine our approach, our training and our narratives.
•••
Alicia Garoupa is chief of well-being and support services for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Jeannette, a student in special education in the Merced County Office of Education’s adult transition program, folds El Capitan Hotel towels as part of a housekeeping training program that teaches work and life skills. For student privacy, the county office did not disclose Jeannette’s last name.
Credit: Courtesy of Merced County Office of Education
As guests check out of El Capitan Hotel in downtown Merced, a group of students wearing Merced County Office of Education (MCOE) shirts or lanyards enter recently vacated rooms to strip the beds, empty the trash bins and vacuum the floors.
For more than a year, students like Alondra Fierros, who always has a smile on her face, have separated and washed the hotel’s dirty linens while Jayden Flores has neatly folded the clean hotel towels into stacks of eight without looking up from the task.
Most of the students, ages 18-22, are diagnosed with varying degrees of autism and/or other disabilities, are in special education in the county office’s adult transition program and learning how to do laundry and clean for the first time.
Despite their limits, the students obtain skills as part of the county office and hotel’s housekeeping program.
“I clean the place, and I take a bunch of dirty bed sheets and towels and put them in the laundry room and wash them,” Flores said about tasks he learned by shadowing and observing housekeepers.
Through hands-on experience at the hotel, students gain skills to work in the housekeeping and hospitality industry — whether at El Capitan or elsewhere — after they graduate. And they develop life skills for adulthood.
Eliazar removes El Capitan Hotel bedding to be washed, one of his duties in a housekeeping training program through the hotel and Merced County Office of Education. Eliazar is a student in special education in the county office’s adult transition program. The county office didn’t disclose his last name for to protect the student’s privacy. Photo courtesy of Merced County Office of Education
“At this age, we’re really trying to (give them) more experience in the community,” said Laura Fong, an assistant superintendent in the Merced County Office of Education.
Vocational training programs have traditionally tailored jobs around special education students’ needs, such as a Fresno restaurant with modified cash registers to accommodate students who can’t read.
This is not the case with Merced County’s program which, instead, integrates students into the housekeeping career, making it one of a few in California and across the nation to do so. The program now serves as a model for other districts aspiring to integrate students with disabilities into careers and society.
From model room to real world experience
The office of education launched the housekeeping training program in October 2022 for its special education students to gain work and life skills in a real world setting, Fong said.
Before the program’s creation, students practiced their skills in an “isolated” mock hotel room, which worked for a while, Fong said.
But it wasn’t enough. The students couldn’t apply what they learned to their life because those skills weren’t being used in a real-world environment. They weren’t observing housekeepers’ work, and therefore couldn’t comprehend the logic behind the tasks they were being instructed to do. They weren’t working alongside employees, so they weren’t learning how to interact with others or the proper ways to behave in a work setting.
The county office sought a collaboration with the hotel, which had built the hotel room replica.
Fong said the yearlong program is critical for the students “to be in the actual field,” get on-the-job training and be able to model employees’ behavior, which in turn provides them with real-world experience while allowing them to interact with others.
How county office’s training programs work
Once Merced County special education students finish their shift at a training site, they return to the classroom or visit another training program for the remainder of the day. In class, one of their tasks is to formulate their resume to include their on-the-job training experience.
Working in the actual hotel “really teaches them responsibility,” said vocational trainer Lorie Gonzales, who accompanies the students to their training programs to supervise and assist them, if needed.
With Gonzales checking their uniforms and attire before a shift, students learn that they must dress appropriately for a job. They learn about the importance of being on time because they’re expected at the hotel for their respective shifts and must clock in once they’re there.
Hotel staff are primarily responsible for training students for the housekeeping tasks, said Robin Donovan, managing director of the hotel.
The students remove dirty sheets and linens, vacuum and straighten rooms, so a housekeeper only has to make the bed and clean the bathroom. Once the housekeeper takes over, students sort, wash and dry the laundry, then vacuum the hallways and stairways and wipe down art and other fixtures mounted on the wall.
The work skills, such as changing sheets and cleaning, become independent living skills that students need in their personal lives, Fong said.
“We want them to be prepared. Not only can they go out and find a job in this industry, doing this work, they can also transfer those skills to living on their own, independently,” she said.
Meg Metz, director of people and culture at El Capitan, said the hotel staff were at first worried about how they’d adapt to working with the students. Now, however, the staff looks forward to working alongside students, Metz and Donovan both said.
Donovan added that hotel staff enjoy their shifts with the students who they say are reliable and hardworking and bring positivity to the workplace.
“They do quality work,” she said, “and with the biggest smiles.”
But the social interactions extend beyond connecting with hotel employees. The partnership with the hotel allows students to engage with hotel guests as well, including those who may still be in their rooms.
“When I come to work here in the hotel, I say, ‘Knock, knock. Housekeeping,’” Flores said as he knocked on a third floor hotel room door.
Gonzales, the vocational trainer, has coached the students on being courteous whenever they run into guests in the hallways and stairways. The students, for instance, tell guests to use the elevator first, Gonzales said.
Expanding opportunities for students with special needs
The housekeeping program isn’t the only vocational training program for individuals with disabilities in Merced County or the surrounding Central Valley communities. Since opening in the 1980s, Wired Café has been a coffee shop where adults with disabilities gain skills that prepare them for the workforce, according to Fong. It is owned and operated by Merced County’s education office as well. Students learn and grow as they take orders and fix and serve smoothies, lattes or sandwiches.
Mimicking Wired Café, the Fresno County education office established Kids Café in 2017 as a work-based learning environment for special education students, county office leaders Christina Borges and Liza Stack said.
Krystal vacuums a hallway at El Capitan Hotel. Krystal is one of about 20 students in special education in the Merced County Office of Education’s adult transition program who is participating in the county office and hotel’s housekeeping training program. For student privacy, the county office did not disclose Krystal’s last name.Photo courtesy of Merced County Office of Education
In their uniforms and aprons, students working at Kids Café complete a variety of tasks, including: preparing and serving food, such as pizza, sandwiches and salads; sweeping or mopping the floors of the restaurant; clearing and wiping the tables after customers leave; stocking inventory; laundering; baking and packaging cookies or scones; weighing and bagging chips; and working the cash register.
The Fresno County office adjusted aspects of the restaurant to accommodate students’ needs and abilities, thereby fostering independence and ensuring student success, Stack said. Restaurant modifications include visual task cards with pictures as well as step-by-step instructions, color-coordinated towels for different cleaning tasks, and a modified register in which 4C means four slices of cheese.
How Kids Café operates
The café provides two-hour shifts for most special education classes during the school year, with longer shifts offered over the summer and winter breaks. Students with special needs living in one of Fresno County’s 30 regional areas for special education services and enrolled in a county-operated program can participate. Participating students may have autism, be deaf or hard of hearing or have emotional disabilities, to name a few. Thirty-three Fresno County special education students, up from 19 last school year, have worked at the restaurant so far this school year.
Starting around July 1, the Fresno County education office will partner with local businesses throughout the county to provide other types of vocational training for students with disabilities and offer employment opportunities in maintenance, facilities and technology at the county office.
“We’re really looking to expand into those areas to give students something more than just restaurant work,” Borges said about integrating students into existing businesses rather than only designing programs for them. “We want to go beyond our students being in one restaurant at one location.”
Much like the Merced County housekeeping training program, Fresno County’s planned expansion would create more vocational training that integrates special education students into careers, rather than tailoring jobs for students — a move that, Borges hopes, will show businesses the value of these students.
Even the California Department of Rehabilitation has worked to close the employment gap for people with disabilities and, in 2022, launched an initiative with the Institute for Workplace Skills & Innovation), a workforce development organization, to employ people with disabilities in allied health care, clerical and manufacturing jobs as part of the Ready, Willing and ABLE program.
In August, the department and organization again partnered to establish Career Launchpad, a vocational skills and career transition program for students with disabilities — an often “overlooked and undervalued” community, a media release at the time said.
Students with disabilities are valuable to the workforce
Overall, vocational training programs such as those in Merced and Fresno exemplify how valuable students with disabilities can be to the workforce, leaders of Merced and Fresno counties said.
“Our students being seen as active, valued members of society is one of the most important things that comes out of this,” Stack said.
Flores, one of the Merced County students, aged out of the housekeeping training program in December when he turned 23. Gonzales, his vocational trainer, said she had hoped his employment with El Capitan Hotel would continue, especially because he could work independently in the training program. The hotel was unable to hire him because they had no open positions. He now participates in the Haven Program, a community-based center serving adults with disabilities.
“I hope in the future, there’s more businesses that will hire them after they graduate,” Gonzales said. “… They’ve proved to us that they are capable.”
As Merced and Fresno counties implement and expand programs throughout their communities, Borges hopes the community’s attitude will change toward students and individuals with disabilities.
“Our students with disabilities,” she said, “have a role in the workforce.”
Legislation that calls for providing all state teachers and aides with math and reading training passed its first legislative hurdle despite the uncertainty of funding and the skepticism of advocates for English learners who dislike the bill’s nod to instruction in the “science of reading,” including phonics.
Senate Bill 1115 has no secure source of money heading into a tight fiscal year, with Gov. Gavin Newsom all but ruling out money for new programs. His January budget includes $20 million for a designated county office to train coaches who would then train their own teachers in what they learned.
Neither the bill’s author, Sen. Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara, nor its sponsor, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, offered a cost estimate at a hearing of the Senate Education Committee last Wednesday, though it would cost at least hundreds of millions of dollars to train 300,000 teachers. They said they were willing to phase in and focus funding, such as concentrating on early literacy and numeracy skills, and to look for federal and dedicated sources of money.
Thurmond said training teachers to enable all students to read effectively “is an issue of moral clarity.” Neither he nor Limon offered a cost estimate that could run into hundreds of millions of dollars.
“In an age when we have access to substantial brain science about how students learn, it should be unacceptable to train only some educators in the best strategies to teach essential skills,” he said.
School districts have received billions of dollars between federal and state Covid relief funding, including money to address learning loss — money that could be used for teacher training — but none of that has been earmarked for that purpose.
State budgets have set aside $50 million to hire and train reading teachers in the most impoverished 5% of schools. But Thurmond said training of trainers, however, does not substitute for providing sufficient funding to ensure training for all teachers and support staff in “high-quality” programs in math and literacy.
The bill calls for the Department of Education to identify and recommend those high-quality programs by Jan. 1, 2026. For transitional kindergarten through sixth grade, those should align with “the science of reading” by focusing on results-driven methods of teaching, which may include, but is not limited to, offerings such as Lexia LETRS and CORE Learning.”
Singling out those specific trainings in the bill were red flags for two nonprofits that advocate for English learners: Californians Together and California Association of Bilingual Educators (CABE). The science of reading refers to research from multiple fields of science that confirm or discount theories on how children learn to read. LETRS and CORE Learning are intensive programs that explain a systematic approach to teaching phonics and other elements of reading consistent with the science of reading.
Californians Together and CABE, however, complain that those programs overemphasize phonics and “structured literacy” at the expense of English learners’ need for more attention to oral language and vocabulary development.
Calling Californians Together’s position on the bill a “tweener,” legislative advocate Cristina Salazar testified at a hearing last week, “We agree that we need more professional learning for educators, but we do have concerns with the bill. Specifically, it mentioned the science of reading, and it also names commercial programs.”
CABE legislative advocate Jennifer Bakers said her organization shares the same concerns and “hopes to have a collaborative conversation about a path to move forward.”
Sen. Rosilicie Ochoa Boch, R-Yucaipa, asked Thurmond whether the intent is to train existing teachers in the new standards that new teachers will be trained on.
“Yes, that is correct,” Thurmond said.
Opposition from Californians Together and CABE this month factored into the quashing of a bill that would have required school districts and charter schools to train all TK to fifth-grade teachers and literacy coaches in instruction based on the science of reading and to buy textbooks from a list endorsed by the State Board of Education. Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Salinas, ordered Assembly Bill 2222 shelved without a hearing to give time for negotiations with opponents, including the California Teachers Association.
At the hearing, Thurmond acknowledged similarities between the two bills, although AB 2222 would have been a mandate, while AB 1115 would recommend the selection of trainings.
Along with mandating the science of reading approach to instruction, AB 2222 would have required that all TK to fifth-grade teachers, literacy coaches and specialists take a 30-hour minimum course in reading instruction by 2028. School districts and charter schools would purchase textbooks from an approved list endorsed by the State Board of Education.
Thurmond said the language of AB 1115 is well balanced in that it refers to both the science of reading and the state’s English Language Arts/English Language Development framework, which includes multiple strategies necessary for all students, including English learners, to learn how to read.
New math framework
July will mark a year since the State Board of Education adopted a revised California Mathematics Framework, which took four years and three revisions to pass. The drafters and supporters agree that the framework, with emphasis on tangible applications of math, as well as a deeper conceptual understanding of it, will require a shift in teaching and extensive training. But no significant money has been allocated yet, and the process of reviewing textbooks and materials has yet to begin.
In an interview, Limon said it is important to raise the issue of teacher training now, even if legislation is tied to a future appropriation.
Part of the public debate in committing public dollars should be, What would the program look like, and how will it serve diverse students? she said. “There is value to that discussion,” she said. Before her election to the Legislature, Limon served for six years on the Santa Barbara Unified school board.
In 2022-23, only 46.7% of California students met grade standards on the state’s English language arts test; the percentages were 36.6% for Hispanic, 29.9% for Black, and 35.3% for economically disadvantaged students. The scores were worse in math: 34.5% of students overall, with 22.7% of Latino, 16.9% of Black, and 22.9% of economically disadvantaged students meeting standards.
Many colleges and universities in California are currently expanding the ways students can receive credit for prior learning, an increasingly popular practice of awarding college credit to students for knowledge they acquired outside a college setting.
Proponents of granting credit for prior learning, often referred to by its acronym CPL, point out that Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate tests are very common ways that students receive credit for college classes before they attend college. But there is an effort to broaden the ways that students may be able to receive credit for what they’ve learned outside a college classroom, whether on the job, through volunteering or even a hobby, such as photography or playing an instrument.
In the past few weeks, Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the notion of giving credit for prior learning as an important way to recognize the skills that adults pick up in the military or even volunteering through the California Service Corps.
Many educators say this is an important step toward promoting equity in their institutions. It’s a way to recognize the academic value of work, particularly for students who may have left college to work or started college later in life. Proponents say it can save students time and money, making graduation more likely.
Does my college or university offer credit for prior learning?
Because this is an arena of education that is rapidly evolving, it can be difficult for students to figure out whether they may qualify for credit. Right now, that depends on the policies at any given institution or academic department.
College advisers or faculty members are a good starting point. Veterans may also want to speak to the department that supports veterans. Many institutions are currently refreshing their policies for giving credit for prior learning and outlining them in their course catalogs.
How can credit for prior learning help students?
Students can fulfill general education or major requirements before even showing up to school. This means that they’re able to graduate with a degree or credential more quickly — which also means that they’re more likely to graduate. This can save students time and money.
A study by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning found that students who started school with 12 credits could save between $1,500 to $10,500 and nine to 14 months, depending on the institution.
The study found that 48% of students over 25 years old who had obtained credit for prior learning completed their degree or certificate within 7.5 years, compared with 27% of students who had no credit. The completion rate was even higher, at 73%, for credit received outside the military.
There are also important psychological benefits to students who start college with credit under their belts. These students begin their college careers with a sense of momentum and accomplishment, according to Tina Barlolong, career center co-coordinaor at Palomar College in San Marcos.
Are there any drawbacks?
Taking a college course just for the sake of taking a course has risks, and the same is true for pursuing credit for prior learning. It takes a lot less time and money than a full course, but students on financial aid or veterans on the GI Bill, for instance, could run out of funding before they’ve attained a degree if they pursue unnecessary credit.
Proponents of credit for prior learning encourage students to discuss their best options with a counselor, adviser or a faculty member in a student’s field of study. They can ensure that the credit in question will serve a purpose, such as fulfilling a general education or major requirement.
What are some common methods of receiving credit for prior learning?
It may be as simple as passing a challenge test required by a department. The College Board offers a way to test out of college-level material through its College-Level Examination Program, usually referred to as CLEP in the field.
Portfolio reviews are common in the arts. That means a professor or committee may review paintings, photography or graphic design before deciding to award a student credit. A portfolio could also be used to assess a student’s business skills.
Playing music or acting out a scene may be a way to earn credit in the performing arts. Beginning piano is a popular course.
Some students may have obtained a certificate or license in their job that is the equivalent of what they would learn in a college course. Certifications offered by Microsoft or Google that allow students to receive credit for basic computing are common.
The American Council on Education offers many colleges and universities guidance on how to award credit. That can include deciding whether military or corporate training meets academic standards.
Are veterans eligible for credit for what they have learned while in the military?
Yes. In fact, the study by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning found that 68% of students who received credit for prior learning earned it through the military.
Credit for prior learning has a long history among veterans. The military offers service members extensive training that tends to be highly standardized. When they are discharged, veterans receive a Joint Services Transcript, which translates military experiences into civilian language. This can be used for a resume or for receiving college credit. Veterans can also receive credit for college through free examinations called DSST tests.
Every public university or college in California accepts the Joint Services Transcript — though whether any given course is eligible for credit may depend on the institution or department.
Veterans may be able to get credit for physical education requirements, for instance. Depending on their training in the service, veterans may also receive credit for courses in engineering, law enforcement, computer science or health care.
One branch of the military bypasses this whole process: the Air Force has its own community college, so most of its members simply receive a college transcript upon being discharged.
Can I get credit for work experience?
Not exactly. The idea behind getting credit for prior learning is that it is awarded for learning and skills acquired, not just for work experience.
Someone working as an auto mechanic might have picked up a lot of knowledge and skills, but that experience may not correspond to everything covered in an automotive repair course, such as safety procedures, ethics and professionalism. Credit is granted for that knowledge and training — not just the years working in a given field.
How do California’s colleges and universities view credit for prior learning?
Thanks to legislation, community colleges and the campuses of California State University and the University of California all have policies on the books for credit for prior learning. But how those policies are implemented varies from system to system, school to school and even department to department.
All three systems will consider the veterans’ Joint Services Transcript and offer credit for any equivalent courses that are offered on their campus.
California’s community colleges have perhaps the most generous guidelines for awarding these credits. Colleges may award credit for skills learned through work experience, employer-training programs, military service, government training, independent study or volunteer work.
The community colleges have set an ambitious goal of ensuring that at least 250,000 Californians receive credit for prior learning by 2030. The Mapping Articulated Pathways Initiative supports community colleges in these efforts through training, technology and policy.
California State University overhauled its policies for granting credit for prior learning in 2023, and it has required each campus to have its own policies. The system does accept exams such as the CLEP and DSST for credit. It will also accept any training or instruction that corresponds to American Council on Education guidelines.
The University of California has the strictest guidelines on credit for prior learning. Its guidance states that credit will only be offered for courses that meet the same high standards of the UC system — this stance is typical of selective universities. It does not award credit for vocational or technical training or for results on CLEP or DSST tests. It will accept credit for courses on veterans’ Joint Services Transcript for any equivalent courses UC offers.
“The more traditional, the more selective an institution is, the more they tend to not have generous policies,” said Su Jin Jez, CEO of the nonprofit California Competes, a nonpartisan policy and research organization.
How much does getting this credit cost?
This is another factor that varies by institution. It might be free for students who have already matriculated. Many institutions charge a fee for tests or other assessments. Some might charge for each credit unit. Generally, it will be considerably cheaper than tuition. However, funding can become a barrier when financial aid does not cover these fees, according to a recent survey by the American Council on Education.
Will this credit transfer from one institution to another?
Theoretically, it should, just like any other course. When a student receives credit for prior learning through an institution, their transcript will show that they received credit for a specific course number.
But no matter how a student earns credit, transferring credits can be potentially tricky. It largely depends on the institution or major a student is transferring into.
Does giving credit to students for prior learning end up hurting college enrollment?
It may sound counterintuitive, but giving credit to a student for prior learning actually means it is more likely that the student will take more courses. The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning study found that students awarded credit for prior learning actually tended to earn 17.6 traditional course credits more than students without those credits.
Speaking more than one language is a superpower and a growing necessity in our global economy. If we want more California students to experience the economic, academic, social and emotional benefits of multilingualism, bilingual or dual language classrooms should be the gold standard for all schools. English learners, who often fall behind in school, especially stand to benefit from bilingual/dual language programs.
Families across the state — regardless of political affiliation, or whether they speak English at home — can recognize the academic, cognitive and economic advantagesof bilingualism. They want multilingual education for their children when they see the data and experience these benefits for themselves. While California has made major strides toward making bilingual classrooms the norm, there is a long road ahead, particularly in communities with large numbers of English learners. This is a grave injustice for the 40% of California children who speak a language other than English at home, because these children would excel in bilingual classrooms academically while still developing literacy in their home language and English. We need long-term investment from the state for our students to realize their full potential.
A recent report from the UCLA Civil Rights Project underscores this urgent need. Proposition 227, which passed in 1998, mandated English-only education for English learner students in public schools and dismantled bilingual teacher preparation programs. Then, in 2016, California voters passed Proposition 58 with 73% of the vote, overturning Proposition 227 and making it easier, in theory, to implement bilingual classrooms.
However, more than two decades of “English-only” education has left us without enough qualified bilingual teachers, even though there is now more demand for them. According to the UCLA report, out of 1.1 million English learners in California, only 188,381 students, or 16% of that population, were enrolled in these programs as of the 2019/2020 school year.
California is still a nationwide leader in supporting bilingual education, despite these numbers. The state’s English Learner Roadmap and Global California 2030 show that our education leaders really do want to improve our students’ critical thinking skills, family and community relationships, and earning potential through bilingual education. And one-time programs like the Bilingual Teacher Professional Development Program, English Learner Roadmap Power in Collaboration Across California, and the English Learner Roadmap Implementation for Systemic Excellence are doing important work to fulfill these goals.
But visionary policies and initiatives, along with one-time grants alone, are not enough. Schools and districts require sustained resources and incentives to train bilingual teachers, set up classrooms, purchase materials, recruit families and ensure their programs can launch and thrive. Right now, we simply do not have that in California. It’s a symptom of our state’s fundamental lack of investment in education overall — California is the world’s fifth largest economy, but we rank 18th in education funding out of the 50 states.
To illustrate this, the UCLA report compares California to Texas, another state with similar English learner populations. Even though California has a large number of English learner students and high interest in bilingual education, it’s still difficult to expand these models in California classrooms. Meanwhile, in Texas, enrollment in bilingual education programs is twice as high as in California. This is because Texas mandates bilingual education for districts enrolling significant numbers of English learners and provides extra state funding per student enrolled in these programs. This ensures strong demand for bilingual teachers and secure funding for their training.
Districts and schools need ongoing funding sources like this embedded in their funding formula. Policymakers must support both one-time initiatives like those mentioned above and long-term sustainable funding sources that help increase our bilingual teacher pipeline and incentivize schools to build high quality bilingual/dual language programs.
These long-term solutions could be modeled after initiatives like First Five, which has received $492 million in state investments since 2000. We need a comprehensive approach to the bilingual teacher pipeline, such as giving colleges and universities “Jump Start” funds to hire faculty and build out their bilingual teacher prep and authorization programs. California should also create initiatives to recruit and give incentives to students who graduate from high school with a State Seal of Biliteracy to enter bilingual teacher preparation programs.
Language is the vehicle of learning. When educators understand how to integrate and leverage language development across everything, all students thrive. We must invest in bilingual education long-term if we are ever going to create a sustainable future for our state’s most valuable resource: our children.
•••
Anya Hurwitz is president and executive director of SEAL (Sobrato Early Academic Language), a nonprofit initiative of the Sobrato Foundation and vice president of the board of directors for Californians Together. She holds a doctorate in education from University of California Berkeley.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
Child care providers discuss trauma at a training at BANANAS in Oakland.
Credit: Zaidee Stavely/EdSource
We live in stressful times. This, coupled with the high rate (80.5%) of children experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience by adolescence, necessitates that schools use trauma-informed practices in their daily routines.
Trauma-informed practices, or TIPS, involve understanding the potential impact of trauma exposure on a child, recognizing signs and symptoms of trauma exposure and responding in a way that supports healing and may build resilience. I
nteractive trainings help educators know how to respond to students with adverse childhood experiences, as well as what to do when a collective crisis happens, such as a natural disaster or school shooting. Educators learn and practice trauma-informed discipline, how to help regulate a stressed child, and build systemwide practices supporting student and teacher well-being.
The California Office of the Surgeon General recognized the need for trauma-informed practices training and created an interactive online program for teachers and schools called Safe Spaces. However, it is not clear how many school districts and educators have accessed the program.
A large majority of teachers (64%) want to learn how to better support students affected by trauma, according to a survey of nearly 15,000 educators by the American Psychological Association (APA). They also need support for coping with their own exposures to trauma. Teachers are often affected by the same events as their students — the pandemic, natural disasters, school shootings. And the APA survey shows educators must also contend with violence by students and parents.
Our research team asked 450 of our local educators during the pandemic about why they might not have been using these resources and found that, despite being highly motivated, teachers faced limited energy and time, some perceived a lack of administrator support, and some felt stigma about needing resources to manage their own emotions.
California needs to do more to equip teachers and administrators on how to cope with trauma in their students and for themselves.
One of the best ways to embed trauma-informed practices into our school systems is to start with the programs that train our future teachers. The National Association of State Boards of Education noted that only 16 states require some form of trauma-informed practices training, although the content and type of training varies.
In California, this type of training is one way a future teacher can meet professional standards, but it is not required. Perhaps if it were, future teachers would begin their careers recognizing signs of possible trauma reactions in their students and know how to approach it with a mindset of “What happened to you?” instead of “What is wrong with you?” They would have tools to support their students with coping and handling emotions, and know when to refer for additional supports.
Teachers already in the classroom also need trauma-informed training, but it’s often lost in the many competing demands districts must balance. Some districts can offer professional development days for their teachers where in-person trauma-informed practices training is available. If more districts could offer this, teachers would have dedicated time to learn the current best practices for supporting students with adverse childhood experiences or with the initial aftermath of school crises, such as psychological first aid for students and teachers.
They would learn how to support the safety of students with disabilities in emergencies through Especially Safe, which was developed by parents and educators who lost students in the Sandy Hook school shooting. Especially Safe offers free resources to help schools better plan, prepare and teach safety in a way that is accessible to all students.
Training teachers in trauma-informed practices is not enough if they are in a school environment that is not prioritizing this; therefore, training of administrators is essential as well. And administrators have their own questions about how to support the whole school community following crises and other events. Therefore, it is best if everyone in the school community gets this training.
Although many organizations offer trauma-informed resources and trainings to schools, we need to scale up these programs to reach all schools and teacher education programs. Funding must cover not only program costs, but also dedicated teacher and administrator time to take these programs as part of professional development days.
Until tragedies make the news, better training in trauma-informed practices may not make the top of the list of priorities, but we need to change this.
•••
Erika Felix, Ph.D., is a professor of clinical psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a Public Voices Fellow of The OpEd Project.
The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.
